Locked-Up Merchandise Frustrates Shoppers

Consumers are faced with increasingly inaccessible products as they are locked up due to escalating theft issues.

Retail theft is a nearly $100 billion problem, according to the National Retail Federation’s 2022 National Retail Security Survey. Pain and allergy medication, blades and razors, fragrances, cosmetics, alcohol, gift cards, power tools, printer cartridges, clothing, shoes, handbags, and jewelry were all listed as the top items stolen in NRF’s 2022 Security Survey.

Huge retailers cut self-checkout to fight retail theft https://t.co/pkLUYCJ3up

— TheStreet (@TheStreet) July 7, 2024

Newsmax cites GlobalData retail analyst Neil Saunders, who claims, “Locking up products worsens the shopping experience, and it makes things inconvenient and difficult.”

Concurrently, CVS spokesperson Amy Thibault told Axios that the retailer would rather not have to employ such methods of protecting its inventory. “Different products experience different theft rates, depending on store location and other factors, and our product protection decisions are data driven,” she explained.

Target, Walmart, Dollar General, and other retailers have also attempted to stop shoplifting by limiting self-checkout options, according to CBS News. Some customers were using the kiosks to pretend to scan items and leaving the store without paying for them.

On the e-commerce giant’s earnings call on Aug. 1, 2024, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy discussed how some theft prevention measures some stores have implemented have turned off shoppers. He claims that customers are moving more toward online ordering to eliminate asking for help, waiting for customer service to unlock the item, and then waiting in line to pay for it.

“When you think about the experience and the speed and ease with which you can order [from us] versus walking into a pharmacy in the physical store — if you walk into pharmacies in cities today, it’s a pretty tough experience with how much is blocked behind cabinets where you have to press a button to get somebody to come out and open the cabinets for you,” Jassy said.

He continued, “[There’s] a lot of shoplifting going on in the stores. So, the combination of what’s happening in the physical world and how much improved we’ve made our pharmacy experience is driving a lot of customer resonance and buying behavior.”